More than 52,000 people died of drug overdoses in 2015, and roughly two-thirds of them had used prescription opioids like OxyContin or Vicodin or illegal drugs like heroin, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Those overdoses have jumped 33 percent in the past five years alone, with some states reporting the death toll had doubled or more.

“It drives what I do,” said Minnesota state Sen. Chris Eaton, a Democrat from Brooklyn Center whose daughter, Ariel, died almost 10 years ago. “It’s a crisis. We’re losing a generation.”

In trying to increase regulation of opioids, lawmakers are up against powerful adversaries. A joint investigation by the Associated Press and the Center for Public Integrity last fall found that pharmaceutical companies and allied groups spent more than $880 million nationwide on lobbying and campaign contributions from 2006 through 2015.

The industry group Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America and Purdue Pharma, one of the nation’s largest opioid manufacturers, did not immediately respond to requests for comment Tuesday on pending legislation in Minnesota and elsewhere.

Based on a lobbyist registration on March 10, the interests of the latter stakeholder will no longer be defenseless against grieving parents serving in the Minnesota state legislature or citizens outraged by the surge in drug overdoses statewide. Linda Barefoot has registered to lobby in Minnesota on behalf of Purdue Pharma LP with the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board.

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Mar 11, 2017

Both the Swift County Monitor and the West Central Tribune are reporting that the sponsors of legislation to lease or purchase the shuttered private prison owned by CoreCivic, the human traffickers formerly known as Correctional Corporation of America, are hopeful the language will go forward, neither HF1510 nor SF1322, its state senate companion bill, received committee hearings by Friday's deadline.

So how does that work? Spoiler alert: there's a way for the measure to go forward, although they missed the first deadline. This path may also help minimize messy citizen testimony and demonstrations in the state capitol.

A bill that could put the Prairie Correctional Facility in Appleton in a better position to house prisoners at some point in the future has been introduced in the Minnesota House by District 17A Rep. Tim Miller, R-Prinsburg. In the Senate, District 17 Sen. Andrew Lang, R-Olivia, is carrying the bill.

However, the bill has yet to have a hearing and with the deadlines rapidly approaching in the Minnesota Legislature for bills to be heard, time is running out for it to move forward this year. [emphasis BSP]

The bill deadlines are: By March 10 committees must act favorably on bills in the house of origin; By March 17 committees must act favorably on bills, or companion bills, that met the first deadline in the other house; and, By March 31 committees must act favorably on major appropriation and finance bills.

Miller’s bill was introduced in the House Feb. 20 and referred to the Public Safety and Security Policy and Finance Committee. It has yet to be heard in the committee. Though no hearing was scheduled for this week, Miller says that one “is in the works.”

HF2017 - (Clark): Voice of East African Women grant for programs to reduce recruitment of East African youth by violent organizations established, grant to local governments with populations at risk for recruitment by violent organizations established, and money appropriated.

. . . State Sen. Andrew Lang, R-Olivia, and Rep. Tim Miller, R-Prinsburg, expect the legislation they authored to be receiving committee hearings in the next week or two. Miller told the Tribune he is confident the legislation will win approval in the House. Lang said he is optimistic for the legislation in the Senate as well. . . .

We'll see if the bills are added next week, before the second deadline, even though they weren't heard in committee in either body by the first deadline.

DOC Spokester: Challenge Incarceration Programs more effective option

Meanwhile, Cherveny reports that "neither legislator has heard how Gov. Mark Dayton feels about the legislation this session." However, the veteran reporter did ask the Governor's agency about the plan:

The Department of Corrections is not interested in utilizing the space in the Appleton facility, according to [Department of Corrections communications director Sarah] Fitzgerald. The department wants to address the needs by investing in the Challenge Incarceration Programs at the correctional facilities in Moose Lake and Togo. The chemical dependency program reduces recidivism and encourages offenders to change their criminal behaviors, according to Fitzgerald.

"CIP has a recidivism rate of only 32 percent and the additional beds would have an impact of over a half million dollars in cost avoided per year,'' she told the Tribune in an email.

In the West Central Tribune article Miller brings up prison expansion plan that the Dayton administration has abandoned, without getting into specifics about how much re-opening and running the Appleton prison might cost.

Fortunately, there's a document from Miller's last prison rodeo (on behalf of his political contributors): the fiscal note created by House nonpartisan staff for 2016's HF3223. Here's that document:

Bluestem Prairie reached out to Debra Hilstrom, DFL-Brooklyn Center, the minority lead on the Minnesota House Public Safety and Security Policy and Finance Committee, in order to discover how policy bills that missed deadlines might still go forward. Hilstrom speculated that while the House bill itself wouldn't reach the floor without suspension of the rules, committee chair Tony Cornish, R-Vernon Center, could insert funding for leasing/purchasing, then operating the facility, in in his budget bill, which has yet to be unveiled.

According to Hilstrom, HF986 is the "governor's bill" for the courts, public safety and corrections. If Bluestem isn't mistaken (we may be), Cornish can hear testimony on the policy bills, but not move them forward; instead, the measure would be funded in the Public Safety omnibus budget bill.

One supposes that the language might also be slipped into another bill via the amendment process in committee or on the House floor--though that isn't exactly the "hearing" for the bills that Miller and Lang say they've been promised.

Should funding for leasing/purchasing and operating the prison reach the Governor's desk via an omnibus budget bill, Mark Dayton has the option of a line item veto. In Minnesota, a governor can use the line item for a budget line (example here), but not a policy line, Hilstrom explained to Bluestem.

Hilstrom is the author of HF1692, which would require all state and local prisoners to be housed in public facilities, while prohibiting the state and counties from contracting with private prisons. Like its senate companion bill, SF1675 (Ron Latz), the bill did not receive a committee hearing by the March 10 deadline. There's a lot of that going around.

We'll keep watching this issue.

Note: Process isn't Bluestem's forte, so if we've stumbled in this explanation, please let us know.

Photo: The prison fence, with Appleton's water tower behind it.

If you appreciate our posts and original analysis, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 33166 770th Ave, Ortonville, MN 56278) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post. Those wishing to make a small ongoing monthly contribution should click on the paypal subscription button.

Let you Legislators know Minnesota should not have a Real ID Driver's Licience. When did we need "papers" to travel to another State in the Union? We cannot allow the Feds to control our Citizen's ability to travel from one place to another. Plus - You cannot be denied your rights to fly by TSA if you don't have this special license. This is nothing but an effort of the Feds to grab more control over a State controled function. What is next? A special Fed License to purchase Groceries? Remember - Obamacare stopped you from buying Insurance across State Lines.

Minnesotans — and many of the lawmakers who represent them — generally want the state to make its driver’s licenses valid for airplane travel and other federal purposes before next year.

Minnesota is one of just three states that have not changed their licenses to comply with the federal requirements and have never received an extension to do so, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The other two are Missouri and Washington. Four other states have expiring extensions to comply.

The Department of Homeland Security last year said that by January 2018, it would require Real ID-compliant licenses from all states. States granted extensions to change their licenses would have until 2020.

Heckova slippery slope toward making the feds the grocery cops.

Photo: Is Rep. Dennis Smith, center, really trying to get the feds to license that adorable shopping cart? Or just trying to get Minnesotans on a plane? (If we recall correctly, the dual-track license solution was part of Representative Rick Hansen's proposal last January,but why solve a problem when an entire caucus can dither for another year). Image via Press and News.

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If you appreciate our posts and original analysis, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 33166 770th Ave, Ortonville, MN 56278) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post.

Dec 31, 2016

The Swift County Monitor reports that Minnesota House Public Safety Chair Tony Cornish would like to lease the closed private prison in Appleton--and that Corrections Corporation of America has rebranded itself as CoreCivic.

Swift County is already gearing up to make another effort to get the State of Minnesota to lease or buy the Prairie Correctional Facility in Appleton.

At the county board’s meeting Dec. 19, Commissioner Gary Hendrickx, District 1-Appleton, reported that he and Commission Chair Pete Peterson, District 3-south Benson, had attended a meeting of representatives of lobbying firm Goff Public and CoreCivic, the owner of the prison.

CoreCivic is the new name of Corrections Corporation of America, the country’s largest owner of private prison facilities. It changed its name this past fall. . . .

Also at the meeting was District 17A state Rep. Tim Miller, R-Prinsburg, and state Senator-elect Andrew Lang, R-Olivia. The meeting was called to formulate a strategy for lobbying the Legislature during the 2017 session. . . .

It has been estimated that reopening the prison would create 350 jobs for western Minnesota, have a $13 to $15 million payroll, and provide a significant boost to the local economies of the many small towns from which the employees come.

Hendrickx told fellow commissioners that it seems that the appetite to purchase isn’t as strong as it was last year; there is more of an appetite to lease, he said.

Republican Tony Cornish, chair of the state House’s Public Safety and Crime Prevention Policy and Finance Committee, seems to have more of an appetite for a lease, Hendrickx said. The lease doesn’t require the big upfront dollar amount a purchase would, he said.

Minnesota Democrat Gov. Mark Dayton, who has not looked at any use of the Appleton prison favorably, still has indicated he leans toward a purchase if it is done.

For the Appleton area, whether it is a lease or a purchase, it is the jobs that are important, Hendrickx said. But it is also important that the agreement that is reached whether a purchase or a lease shows a commitment to use the facility for the long term to ensure job stability, Hendrickx said. [emphasis added]

Unintentional humor? The story is filed under Death Notices. It's also clear from Commissioner Hendrickx that for Swift County, this thrust isn't about overcrowding or concern for the inmates, as was claimed during the session, but jobs.

[Miller] did manage to snag some campaign cash from Corrections Corporation of America's executives and their spouses, as well as from a couple of CCA corporate lobbyists. From his pre-general election report to the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board (available here):

All that money must be smooth as Tennessee whiskey for blunting the blow of rejection by Swift County's finest news source (We're not being snarly about the Monitor, whose editor is highly respected among country newspaper people).

Screenshot: We're not sure if the Swift County Monitor wanted to file this story under the obits.

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A community meeting hosted by energy company Enbridge quickly dissolved Tuesday after a Bemidji police officer asked environmental activist Winona LaDuke to leave.

The meeting, held at the DoubleTree hotel in Bemidji, was meant to give community members and landowners information about the proposed replacement of Line 3, an Enbridge oil pipeline that runs from Alberta, Canada, through northern Minnesota to Superior, Wis.

LaDuke, who founded the Native-led environmentalist group Honor the Earth, and other activists hoped to ask Enbridge questions regarding the maintenance of the old pipeline if it is replaced with a new one. A Bemidji police officer asked LaDuke to leave after she and other activists tried to quiet the tightly-packed room about 15 minutes after the meeting began.

"They held an informational meeting — and a lot of people attended — and they didn't seem willing to answer questions," LaDuke told the Pioneer as multiple officers told attendees to leave the room. "They were not prepared to give answers."

As the officer repeatedly told LaDuke to leave, saying he had been asked to do so by Enbridge, others in the crowd took video, telling the officer that it was a public meeting and that LaDuke should be allowed to stay and speak. . . .

Some who attended the meeting were disappointed with the format. The room was crowded, with no chairs. Audrey Thayer, a citizen who attended the meeting, said she had hoped for a more formal presentation.

An Enbridge-hosted meeting in Clearbrook, Minn., set for Wednesday has been cancelled after a similar meeting in Bemidji Tuesday ended early when police told an activist to leave.

Both meetings were scheduled to allow landowners and community members to ask questions and voice concerns regarding the replacement of Line 3, an Enbridge oil pipeline that runs from Alberta, Canada, through northern Minnesota to Superior, Wis.

Yesterday in Bemidji, MN, 150 concerned community members showed up at an Enbridge meeting to get information about the proposed Line 3 pipeline. Most of the attendees were Anishinaabe. There was no formal presentation, just scattered tables for "meet and greet" style questions. But we have questions we want publicly answered, so Winona asked them publicly. Why did Enbridge allow human rights violations and police violence against water protectors at Standing Rock? Is their pipeline more important than 21-year old Sophia Wilansky's arm? Are they planning to bring tanks and riot cops to Northern Minnesota to build Line 3?

Unfortunately, these questions were not answered and have never been answered. Winona was intimidated by Bemidji police officers who attempted to unlawfully remove her from the building. At no time did the property owner, DoubleTree Inn, ask her to leave. This is yet another example of police serving the desires of corporations INSTEAD of the law and public safety...and the people standing up and protecting our own. Enbridge walked away from the meeting. At the end of this article, their media specialist Shannon Gustafson says that the meeting was shut down because it became "unsafe." Why is Winona asking questions dangerous? Why is a room full of Anishinaabe dangerous? If a group of white people had shown up and asked questions, would the meeting have been shut down for lack of safety?

We will not allow Enbridge to do business in our communities without accountability. We have seen the destruction they cause. They owe Minnesota some answers. How is this project going to be any different?

Photo: At the request of Enbridge corporation staff, a Bemidji police officer asks Winona LaDuke to leave a meeting at an area hotel. The Enbridge staffers left the room. Photo by Jillian Gandsey | Bemidji Pioneer.

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Nov 26, 2016

November 8th marked a big day for cannabis advocates. Ballot questions were passed in four states legalizing adult use, and four more states legalized medical cannabis. Sensible Minnesota congratulates the tireless efforts of advocates in California, Maine, Massachusetts, and Nevada for legalizing adult use and in Arkansas, Florida, Montana, and North Dakota for medical use. We also applaud the hard fight put up by advocates of adult us in Arizona who were ultimately overcome by a reefer madness ad campaign funded by Chandler pharmaceutical, a company which manufactures fentanyl, and Discount Tire. The Drug Policy Alliance has provided a breakdown of the different ballot questions, as well as commentary on the presidential election, available here.

November 8th also elected a new president who will take office on January 20, 2017. With the changing administration, we may also see a changing policy for how the federal government enforces cannabis laws. Under the current Obama Administration, federal cannabis prohibition laws are enforced based on a series of executive orders of the Attorney General’s office. These executive orders were issued under former Attorney General Eric Holder’s watch and outline eight priorities for cannabis prohibition enforcement:

Preventing the distribution of cannabis to minors;

Preventing revenue from the sale of cannabis from going to criminal enterprises, gangs, and cartels;

Preventing the diversion of cannabis from states where it is legal under state law in some form to other states;

Preventing state-authorized cannabis activity from being used as a cover or pretext for the trafficking of other illegal drugs or other illegal activity;

Preventing violence and the use of firearms in the cultivation and distribution of cannabis;

Preventing drugged driving and the exacerbation of other adverse public health consequences associated with cannabis use;

Preventing the growing of cannabis on public lands and the attendant public safety and environmental dangers posed by cannabis production on public lands; and

Preventing cannabis possession or use on federal property.

The new presidential administration will likely set new policies in regards to enforcement priorities of federal cannabis prohibition. The president-elect has indicated his support for both medical cannabis and the states’ right to regulate cannabis for adult use, but many of his closest advisors, including New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and Vice President-Elect Mike Pence, have expressed adamant opposition to cannabis legalization.

On Thursday, November 18th we learned that the president-elect plans to appoint Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions as Attorney General. Senator Sessions, along with his partner in crime Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa, have been adamantly opposed to cannabis legalization efforts, for both medical and adult use. Just in April, at a Senate drug hearing, Sessions said “we need grown-ups in charge in Washington to say marijuana is not the kind of thing that ought to be legalized, it ought not to be minimized, that’s in fact a very real danger.” Sessions, a big fan of Nancy Regan’s ‘Just Say No’ campaign in the early 1980’s went so far to say that the Obama Administration’s policies reverses “20 years almost of hostility to drugs that begin really when Nancy Regan started ‘Just Say No.’”

Senator Sessions is a “worse than worst case scenario” for the movement, but we’re hopeful the president-elect influences his policy choices by continuing the policies set forth by the Obama Administration. This is also an opportunity for the U.S. Senate to fail confirmation of Sessions, and stand firm against prohibition. Those in the industry, advocates, patients, and consumers should follow this closely, contact their Senators, and be on high alert for federal enforcement on January 21, 2017.

An additional level of protection, at least for patients in medical states, is the Rohrabacher-Farr amendment that prohibits the Department of Justice, including the Drug Enforcement Administration, from using funds to arrest or prosecute patients, caregivers, and businesses operating in compliance with state medical cannabis laws. This amendment was passed as part of a larger appropriations bill that deals with federal government spending.

The appropriations bill is passed annually and addresses the government’s discretionary spending. In 2015, amendments, including the Rohrabacher-Farr amendment, protecting states with medical cannabis and hemp programs were passed by wide margins, we expect these amendments to remain in place. However, another amendment that would prohibit the use of federal funds for enforcement in states that permit adult use failed 202-222 in the Republican controlled House.

We do not know if a Republican-controlled Senate will provide funds for enforcement of federal law. If they don’t renew the Rohrabacher-Farr amendment and other defunding measures, expect full enforcement by the federal government under an Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

Minnesota

Many Minnesotans are also wondering what the outcome of our state elections mean for cannabis policy right here at home. As you may know, Republicans won control of the Senate and the House of Representatives, and a Democratic Governor remains in office through 2018. We understand there is a great need to not only expand allowable conditions under Minnesota’s current medical cannabis program, we need to also see expansions such as allowing plant materials which is cheaper to get to retail, additional providers of medical cannabis, and allowing patients who do not live near a patient care center to grow at home.

Although we are optimistic the Republican-controlled Legislature will work hard to expand patient access, historically, Republican controlled legislatures in Minnesota have been difficult for advocates to work with. In 2014, the current medical cannabis legislation was passed by the DFL controlled Senate with a 48-18 vote. Republican Senators Benson, Chamberlin, Housley, Newman, Pratt, and Senjem voted in the affirmative and were reelected in 2016, so it is our hope that one or more of these Senators will step forward to help gain better access for more patients.

In the House of Representatives, Republicans will retain control, and we expect to find the biggest roadblock to be in the Public Safety Committee, previously chaired by Rep. Tony Cornish who has been a staunch opponent of pro-cannabis legislation and criminal justice reform in the past. We are hopeful that the House Republicans will appoint a Public Safety Chair who will not obstruct progress for political gain, but rather will hold hearings on any proposed pro-cannabis legislation. Whether this is Rep. Cornish or another Republican leader, we believe this will be the biggest roadblock in the reform movement.

In analyzing the results of Minnesota’s legislative election, we look to the party platforms for guidance in how we expect the controlling majority may act. The Minnesota GOP passed two platform resolutions regarding cannabis policy, one in favor of medical use and one opposed to adult/recreational use. As an aside, the DFL passed an action agenda item in 2016 supporting the legalization of both medical and adult-use cannabis.

We don’t expect to see any major changes to the current legislation, nor do we expect the Minnesota GOP controlled legislature to pick up the topic of adult use. It will be up to Minnesota in 2018 to elect pro-cannabis candidates to engage in real reforms.

This post first appeared on the Sensible Minnesota blog on November 21, 2016.

Vice President/Treasurer of Sensible Minnesota, Maren Joyce Schroeder is a paralegal and Qualified Rule 114 Neutral for Borgos Law, PLLC, has nearly ten years of experience working in various areas of law including financial, corporate, intellectual property, nonprofit, tax, and criminal defense.

She has a B.S. in Paralegal Studies and an M.B.A. in Legal Administration. Maren is a PACE Registered Paralegal and a Minnesota Certified Paralegal. She serves as the Regulation Review Coordinator for the NFPA and the Director of Professional Development for the Minnesota Paralegal Association. As the chair of MPA’s Regulation Committee, she worked in 2014 to develop the Minnesota Certified Paralegal program. A member of the Minnesota State Bar Association, she was recently appointed to the MSBA’s Task Force on Alternative Legal Services Models. Also active in the community, Maren serves on her city’s Planning & Zoning Commission, is a volunteer crisis advocate for victims of sexual assault, and is a volunteer family and school mediator.

Correction: Bluestem Prairie had incorrectly attributed authorship of this post to another officer of Sensible Minnesota. We regret the error.

Photo: This is what legal medical cannabis looks like in Minnesota: an extract or oil from one of two companies that grow and process the plant. Whole plants (leaves) for smoking? Not allowed.

If you appreciate our posts and original analysis, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 33166 770th Ave, Ortonville, MN 56278) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post.

Nov 18, 2016

The Bemidji Pioneer and Lakeland Public Television are reporting that incidents of harassment in Bemidji, Beltrami County seat, college town and center for many many Native American services has led to the creation of #BemidjiRespect.

Bemidji Mayor Rita Albrecht and a group of residents are working to highlight Bemidji as an inclusive community after they’ve heard of several recent incidents of hostility and harassment toward local citizens.

The effort began Friday, when Albrecht was contacted by three residents who informed her that their friends and family had experienced discriminatory harassment.

"A group of us met and talked about our concerns and we decided that this isn't the way Bemidji is. We decided that we should make a statement about what our values are in Bemidji," Albrecht said in an interview Wednesday.

The result is a document titled "Standing Together for #BemidjiRespect."

The statement reads that Bemidji views any of these incidents as "absolutely unacceptable, here or anywhere.

"We invite you to stand with us as we affirm shared values of mutual respect and appreciation for our differences," the statement continues. "Our community seeks to build bridges of inclusion, awareness and understanding across all divides. We face up to challenges and address them together. We hold one another accountable for doing the right thing."

Word has spread about the statement, and Albrecht said people from across the city are asking to be involved.

"The only thing we had thought of was to put out this statement. So far, the community has rallied around this idea and have said that they want to do more," Albrecht said. "So, we're also putting the question back to the community about what it wants to do, because that's where the energy is."

According to Scott Faust, director of communications and marketing for BSU and Northwest Technical College, at least 50 organizations and businesses are expected to endorse the statement by Thursday afternoon. . . .

"I've also been contacted by one of the members of Shared Vision (a local community group working to improve race relations) and he offered to be of assistance, and I think that's really awesome that they want to do something with us," Albrecht said. "I think there are a number of organizations in our city that could be helpful including Shared Vision."

The plan for the growing group is to publish its statement in the Pioneer this weekend while also creating a way for those who are interested to “opt in” to the effort.

"I'd like people to focus on the things that unite us, rather than divide us," Albrecht said. "We all share values of wanting to have the best for our family, our children and to live safely."

If you appreciate our posts and original analysis, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 33166 770th Ave, Ortonville, MN 56278) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post.

Nov 10, 2016

Tuesday, police received two reports of protesters outside Vinje Lutheran Church on the 1100 block of Willmar Avenue Southwest. Vinje was a polling place in Tuesday's election.

The first was reported around 5 p.m. A man was standing outside the polling place with an anti-abortion sign. The man had reportedly been asked to leave, but was refusing to.

At 7:15 p.m. Tuesday, police received another report of a protester in the parking lot of the same church. The man was advised of Minnesota statute barring protesters within 100 feet of a polling place

Minnesota election judges take our statutes very seriously, though it's likely many of those voting at the location agreed with the protester. The right of voters to cast their ballots without encountering persuasion or intimidation at their polling location is part of the process.

With the exception of conservative Blue Dog Republican Collin Peterson, the precinct voted heavily Republican. This was not the case in 2014, when citizens favored DFL candidates with the exception of Dan Severson for Minnesota Secretary of State; in 2012, the voters split their tickets, picking Romney--but Klobuchar for U.S. Senator, Republican candidate Joe Gimse over eventual winner Lyle Koenen for state senate (both were sitting senators at the time) and Sawatzky over sitting state representative Bruce Vogel.

It's a swing district, but both Republican and DFL candidates for the state legislature from Willmar are pro-life.

Photo: File photo of the church, via West Central Tribune.

If you appreciate our posts and original analysis, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 33166 770th Ave, Ortonville, MN 56278) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post.

Oct 23, 2016

Whether campaigning in urban or rural legislative districts, political candidates who met certain criteria outlined in Minnesota statute are to have access to the "doors" of people living multiple unit dwellings. It's not a free-for-all however, as the law reasonable exceptions and steps for securing access.

According to the police report, on October 14 at 4:00 PM, my opponent, Victor Lake called the Eagan Police to lodge a complaint against the manager of the Cinnamon Ridge Apartments. She was refusing to let him into the properties without first clearing it with the management.

Lake was rude and threatening and tried to bully his way by demanding immediate entry. The police responded and told him to call the management company to arrange entry on another day.

The manager said she was scared and intimidated. She noted that she is pregnant and did not feel safe with his threats. The police took her side against Lake and told her that he cannot bully his way into apartments on his terms.

I stopped there today to be sure there were no residual bad feelings that might reflect on our team. She effusively praised the Carlson team and even relayed her feelings to some new renters who were present. She also gave me a copy of the police report and said she had total support from her company.

Candidates behaving as Lake did damage to the reputation of present and future officeholders. The Carlson campaign apartment team, led by Jim Johnson, has always taken extra steps to work with apartment management, to maintain good relationships, build trust and protect the security and privacy of constituents who live in secured apartments.

Any candidate who violates that trust not only hurts all candidates but also those who work in support of candidates regardless of party. Victor Lake should be ashamed of himself and needs to get a grip on acceptable campaign behavior.

Bluestem asked Carlson for a copy of the police report which the manager had given to him, which we posted on scribd and embed below:

[6] RP cited a state statute that allows political campaigns access to properties for political purposes. Petty misd if violated. I advised RP that he should make phone calls to property management corporate and arrange access to the property knowing full well that they would allow him the access he is seeking, he would just have to make the phone calls himself to arrange it.

(2) requiring reasonable and proper identification as a necessary prerequisite to admission to a multiple unit dwelling;

(3) in the case of a nursing home or a registered housing with services establishment providing assisted living services meeting the requirements of section 144G.03, subdivision 2, denial of permission to visit certain persons for valid health reasons;

(4) limiting visits by candidates or volunteers accompanied by the candidate to a reasonable number of persons or reasonable hours;

(5) requiring a prior appointment to gain access to the facility; or

(6) denial of admittance to or expulsion from a multiple unit dwelling for good cause.

Perhaps Lake should actually know the laws he waves around to intimidate people.

Team Carlson doorknocking rules build relationships

Carlson passed along the guidelines his campaign has developed for door knocking in apartment buildings and complexes:

We experience several levels of coordination and cooperation with the property managers in the district. One or two of us try to visit rental offices to build a trusting relationship with these folks who have make-or-break decision powers for me and for our doorknockers and lit distributors. There are many stories of resistance and success but “being nice” always pays off. The relationships vary from “super” to “wary.” We ask permission before scheduling at any secured buildings or unsecured living areas such as senior living properties.

1. They provide pass keys to the front doors to all of their buildings and encourage providing information. We always promise to not litter and to respect concerns of anyone who asks how and why we were let in to the secured buildings or allowed to go door-to-door in unsecured locations.

2. Some have a person walk with our people to open any locked door or to explain to any resident, why these people are in the building.

3. Some ask for a driver’s license and give our people the passkeys.

4. Some ask for a candidate to introduce the team members and put management at ease.

5. Some ask for a candidate to be present at all times that a team is on site.

6. Some will schedule a property employee to verify that all of the above are met and we are doing or limiting the activities as we promised.

7. If a property manager is not aware of a commitment by their management, we go away and retry at another time. We are never confrontational or attempt to bully our way by waving the law in front of their face. We do carry copies of the law in cases where the person may not be familiar with the appointments we have made.

From the sounds of it, voter contact is viewed not just as an opportunity to win a vote for the senator, but to build relationships as well.

If you appreciate our posts and original analysis, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 33166 770th Ave, Ortonville, MN 56278) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post.

Oct 18, 2016

Bluestem's not a big fan of the tactic of attempts to get speaking events cancelled, so as Bagley Public High School once again finds itself in the midst of a dust-up over an anti-Muslim speaker, we're wondering if more education might be a better strategy to counter tonight's John Guandolo event in the Northwest Central Minnesota small town in Clearwater County.

Our post is mentioned in a new press release issued by the Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MN):

The Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MN) today called on administrators of Bagley High Schoo lin Bagley, Minn., to cancel an event this evening featuring notorious Islamophobe and anti-Muslim conspiracy theorist John Guandolo.

The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), an organization that tracks hate groups in America, describes Guandolo as "a disreputable character, who regularly attacks the U.S. government, claims that the director of the Central Intelligence Agency is a secret Muslim agent for the Saudi government and says that American Muslims 'do not have a First Amendment right to do anything.'"

"Islamophobes like John Guandolo have the right to spew their misinformation and bigotry, but they don't have the right to do it using a taxpayer-funded academic institution as a platform," said CAIR-MN Executive Director Jaylani Hussein. "The perception that the high school may be endorsing Guandolo's anti-Muslim bigotry could lead to a hostile learning environment for Muslim and other minority students."

He suggested that high school administrators tell Guandolo to find a private venue for his talk.

In June of this year, a Texas college canceled a similar event. The college's decision came following a request by CAIR's Dallas-Fort Work chapter.

Virginia's Rappahannock Regional Criminal Justice Academy rescinded its approval of in-service training credits for state law enforcement scheduled to attend a training Guandolo was conducting in Culpeper, Va., after being made aware of his anti-Islam rhetoric.

A sheriff in Kansas decided not to partner with a citizens group sponsoring a Guandolo training after being informed of his conspiracy theories. When a journalist at Kansas' Wichita Eagle covered the controversy, Guandolo accused the reporter of material support of terrorism.

Guandolo left the FBI shortly after reports surfaced that he had engaged in a sexual relationship with a key witness in a corruption trial targeting a member of Congress. In addition he is documented as having falsified his credentials and work experience.

Major General Tony Cucolo, Commandant of the US Army War College, informed CAIR in an email: "Mr. Guandolo's claim (in print) that he teaches at the Army War College and any other references (e.g., online) identifying him as an adjunct instructor here are simply untrue."

CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.

We'll monitor the news for developments in this story.

Photo: John Guandolo.

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QFM is "a Christian radio station licensed to Fosston, Minnesota with its main studio in Grand Forks, North Dakota and additional studios in Bemidji, Minnesota," according to Wikipedia. It's owned by Pine to Prairie Broadcasting (FCC ownership data here, here, and here).

John Guandolo’s website is www.understandingthethreat.com I suggest you go to his website and click on “About John Guandolo” to access a pdf with 2 pages of information about John and his organization, an organization dedicated to providing strategic and operational threat-focused consultation, education, and training for federal, state and local leadership and agencies, and designing strategies at all levels of the community to defeat the enemy: Islam and the Jihadi Movement in the U.S.

UTT is the only organization in America which is briefing leadership at the national, state and local levels on the severity and dangers of the jihadi network here, providing training to law enforcement detailing the strategies and modus operandi of the jihadis (“terrorists”) while providing specific investigative guidance showing them how to locate and prosecute terrorists, (organizations and individuals) and working at the state level to create strategies to dismantle these networks.

John’s presentation will review the threat and the jihadi network in the U.S. and Minnesota, but will focus on the cooperation between the hard-left/Marxist Movement and the Jihadi Movement in the U.S. and practical actions citizens can take to defend their communities and take back ground.

County seat of Clearwater County, Minnesota, Bagley was home to 1,392 people at the time of the 2010 U.S. Census. Residents are represented by state representative Steve Green, R-Fosston, and state senator Rod Skoe, DFL-Clearbrook, in the Minnesota legislature--and by MN07 Congressman Collin Peterson in the U.S. House of Representatives.

[Guandolo] regularly attacks the U.S. government, claims that the director of the Central Intelligence Agency is a secret Muslim agent for the Saudi government and says that American Muslims “do not have a First Amendment right to do anything.”

Guandolo joined the bureau’s Counterterrorism Division in the wake of 9/11, but by 2005 he was posing as a driver for a “star witness” in the corruption case of former Congressman William Jefferson (D-LA). He made “inappropriate sexual advances” to that witness and soon was having an “intimate relationship…that he thought could damage an investigation.” He also unsuccessfully solicited the witness for a $75,000 donation to an organization he supported and carried on extramarital affairs with female FBI agents.

Guandolo’s actions risked tanking the government’s prosecution of Jefferson, and he faced an investigation by the bureau’s Office of Professional Responsibility. Though he later expressed “deep remorse” for his actions, he resigned from the bureau in December, 2008, ahead of an investigation by the Office of Professional Responsibility. Later that month, he became a full-time anti-Muslim activist and conspiracy theorist –– all under the guise of being a counterterrorism expert.

According to his resume, Guandolo became Vice President of the Strategic Engagement Group in December, 2008. He describes the tiny consultancy as the “only company in the United States aimed at identifying potential threats to homeland security.” This would come as a shock to the many U.S.-based consultancies and contractors who actually do this work, often for many millions of dollars – e.g.Booz Allen Hamilton, SAIC, Stratfor, Ashcroft Group. But that’s the thing about Guandolo, he actually believes that only he and a small cadre of allies – including the anti-Muslim ACT! For America, whose Thin Blue Line project he helped launch – understand geopolitics, terrorism and Islam.

In Guandolo’s mind, the U.S. government has already been infiltrated by the enemy –– Muslims. He raised eyebrows –– and was widely mocked –– a year ago with wild claimsabout John Brennan, who was later confirmed as director of the Central Intelligence Agency. Speaking on a far-right online radio show, heclaimed that Brennan had “interwoven his life professionally and personally with individuals that we know are terrorist” and given them access to top government officials. What’s more, he claimed Brennan “brought known Hamas and Muslim Brotherhood leaders into the government and into advisory positions.”

Why would Brennan do such things? Guandolo knows. It’s because Brennan was the target of a successful “counterintelligence operation against him” in Saudi Arabia and converted to “Islam when he served in an official capacity” there. And the conspiracy doesn’t stop there. Guandolo claimed a couple weeks later that President Obama had “made a significant effort to protect known members of Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood inside this government.” . . .

The SPLC also looks at Guandolo here and here, while Right Wing Watch has a John Guandolo category on its webpage. The Washington Post reports that author David Shipler has debunked the central tenet of Guandolo's conspiracy theory in hisbook "Freedom of Speech: Mightier in Than the Sword":

A compelling chapter depicts the community of self-appointed guardians who make a business of issuing impassioned, McCarthy-like warnings about Islamist conspiracies to take over the United States. Shipler introduces us to Frank Gaffney Jr. of the Center for Security Policy; John Guandolo, a former FBI agent; and Steven Emerson, who runs the Investigative Project on Terrorism Web site. All maintain that the Muslim Brotherhood is engaged in an international conspiracy, through a variety of front organizations, to insinuate itself into American life and achieve Islamist world domination. Shipler attends an all-day training session run by Guandolo on how to advance these anti-Muslim views in the media, and he tracks down the sources these so-called experts rely upon to back up their overheated claims.

He finds that the central document underlying most of the claims is a 15-page “explanatory memo” found in an FBI search of an Annandale, Va., home in 2004. Signed by Mohamed Akram, a member of the Palestine Committee of the Muslim Brotherhood, it describes the Brotherhood’s goal as “a kind of grand Jihad in eliminating and destroying the Western civilization from within” and includes a list of “our organizations and the organizations of our friends,” naming some of the most well-established, mainstream Muslim groups in the United States. Gaffney calls it “the Rosetta stone for the Muslim Brotherhood.” Shipler shows that in fact the document is nothing more than a thought piece drafted by a single individual in the early 1990s, and that there is no evidence it was ever considered, much less adopted, by the Muslim Brotherhood or anyone else. Shipler’s research shows that other supposed evidence of the grand Islamist conspiracy is similarly speculative.

This chapter, much like the book as a whole, illustrates the freedom of speech at work. Gaffney, Guandolo and Emerson are, of course, exercising their First Amendment rights, but in doing so they pose a real threat to the political freedoms of others, as they tar with unjustified suspicion Muslim civic organizations that are engaged in the promotion of civil liberties, religious freedom and Muslim identity, not terrorism. Shipler’s response is not to call for the suppression of the conspiracy theorists’ speech, but simply to demonstrate that their claims are vastly exaggerated and unsubstantiated. In short, he answers their speech with his speech. An objective reader cannot help but come away with a better understanding of the truth. This is the freedom of speech at its best.

. . . about a month ago, another speaker showed up in Morrison County. His appearance was by invitation only (meaning only those on the approved list were told the location), but about 70 people showed up at a senior center to hear what he had to say.

I was told that the reason for the secrecy was because the organizers were afraid that CAIR would attempt to disrupt the meeting.

The speaker was John Guandolo. If one runs a Google search on him, what one finds is interesting. Guandolo is a former FBI agent, and he is well connected to a group that includes a retired lieutenant general, a retired admiral, a former U.S. ambassador and a number of former CIA analysts.

Guandolo believes that the Muslim Brotherhood through various front organizations is working to overthrow the U.S. government from within and replace it with an Islamic caliphate governed by Sharia law.

That’s quite a bold statement, but Guandolo says don’t believe what he says, just listen to what U.S. Islamic leaders are saying. He has written a book, “Raising a Jihadi Generation,” which contains numerous excerpts from the documents of U.S. Islamic leaders to confirm his position. Many of the documents were seized during FBI investigations. . . .

. . . The writer’s information source, John Guandolo? He’s a “former” FBI agent because he resigned from the FBI after it became known that, while married, he had inappropriate sexual relationships with female agents and with a confidential source witness during a federal government corruption investigation. He now cruises the anti-terrorism speaker network looking for secret meetings and gullible Islamophobic folks.

The writer owns a bully pulpit from which is displayed editorial sloppiness that is cause for concern in this community. Even where it is legal to speak contemptuously about a religion, is it wise? Does it encourage intolerance? Is it compassionate? Should society encourage or oppose it? If we are going to move forward as a society, we must do all that we can to avoid denigrating the dignity of another human being.

We found no evidence that Guandolo's most recent [the one in January] visit was promoted to the general public--and so we'll have reserve judgement as to whether he actually linked Black Lives Matter to terrorism.

Critical thinking, hearsay, and policy

We believe Americans can say pretty much anything that we want--but shouldn't expect that our freedom from censorship includes freedom from criticism, ie, others' freedom to speak their minds. . . .

Photo: John Guandolo.

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Sep 27, 2016

Bluestem is no friend of private prisons, so this fact check relates only to a claim made about legislation related to the Appleton prison in a lit piece Representative Tim Miller, R-Prinsburg, has been distributing in doorknocks and lit drops in Minnesota House District 17A.

Falk maintains otherwise, stating that he worked with the late State Senator Gary Kubly, DFL-Granite Falls, on language that would require the Department of Correction to house prisoners in the Appleton prison.

Miller's claim that Falk "never" proposed or offered a bill addressing the Appleton prison is false.

On March 4, 2010, Falk introduced HF3375, which would have shifted control of a portion of the Moose Lake Correctional facility from the commissioner of corrections to the commissioner of human services, and transferring offenders who had been incarcerated to private prisons.

In Minnesota, that would be the Prairie Correctional Facility in Appleton.

Relevant text: "requiring the commissioner of corrections to incarcerate offenders from the transferred portion [of Moose Lake] in private prisons" and "appropriating money for costs incurred by the Department of Corrections to incarcerate the offenders transferred to private prisons."

This is unlike Miller's proposed bill (HF3223), which did not appropriate funds for operating the Appleton facility. Read the Fiscal Note on HF3223 for an idea of what the nonpartisan staff at the Minnesota House Fiscal Analysis Department estimated running the prison would cost.

And there's this in the Falk bill:

No later than December 31, 2010, the commissioner of corrections shall transfer 50 percent of the offenders incarcerated at the Minnesota Correctional Facility-Moose Lake to a privately owned and operated medium security correctional facility within the state if the commissioner is able to negotiate an agreement to do so with the facility. If the commissioner is unable to successfully negotiate an agreement with the facility, the commissioner shall transfer the offenders to other state or locally operated correctional facilities or to privately owned correctional facilities in other states.

We're guessing CCA would have wanted the facility to be generating revenue, rather than sitting idle.

Kubly was the chief author of the state senate companion bill, SF2876. While Falk's bill had no co-authors, Kubly was joined by four colleagues from both sides of the aisle:

While not being accurate about Falk's record, Miller has been successful in making the closed prison more of an issue for the district. Koenen had served in the House until the special election in 2012, but didn't sign on to the 2010 Falk-Kubly bill, and still beat Gimse in the 2012 special election.

In 2016, however, Koenen is the chief author of the senate companion bill, SF3192. Falk, on the other hand, now proposes buying the prison for its assessed tax value and re-purposing it as a mental health and substance abuse treatment center.

Photo: The Miller lit piece with the claim about Falk's inaction on the Appleton prison.

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Sep 20, 2016

How much training should police and peace officers receive in the use of their firearms? State Representative and Minnesota House Public Safety Chair Tony Cornish, R-Vernon Center, seems to have grown conflicted about this topic in 2016.

House Public Safety and Crime Prevention Committee Chair Tony Cornish, R-Vernon Center, doesn't have a lot of interest in additional training requirements for police. Cornish, a former law enforcement officer, said there's already plenty of training.

"When it comes right down to it, all the training you have, it's still the officer's call at the scene," he said. "You can't have somebody right behind you telling you what to do. It's pretty much up to them and what they're facing at the time."

Someone in a news article has already made a comment that luckily this was an off-duty trained peace officer, otherwise, , who knows what might have happened This is a false narrative. Many many people that have a permit to carry are good shots and practice regularly with their firearm. Because of budget constraints and other things, police officers get very little actual training in the use of their firearm and it stays in the holster for 99% of the year. Gunners I know shoot regularly and are responsible citizens in an event like this. There are numerous circumstances where regular citizens have stopped criminal actions and Mayhem it did not break loose like former representative Kim Norton stated.

As is often the case with Cornish, he must have been mighty satisfied with what he was saying.

Bluestem supports citizens' carry rights, but we stopped short while reading Cornish's assessment of officer training on the use of their firearms, especially after Cornish told citizens in a Strib op-ed earlier this summer that if we don't want to get shot by officers, members the general public simply need to behave ourselves.

Now we learn that rather than getting plenty of training, the officers "get very little actual training in the use of their firearm." For the sake of everyone involved, let's hope state and local governments can work together to solve this conundrum in the years to come.

Photo: State Representative and Minnesota House Public Safety Chair Tony Cornish, R-Vernon Center, in a "meh" moment.

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In an interview, Wang said he understands that many Americans are skeptical of high-speed rail. But he said he has seen firsthand the benefit of such projects. Wang was born in Taizhou, China. He worked for China National Technical Import and Export Corp., overseeing construction of massive infrastructure projects financed with foreign dollars. He also did a lot of traveling in China, Japan and Taiwan and saw the impact high-speed rail projects had a region.

"I saw how high-speed rail changed the human beings' lives. How high-speed rail improved the economy and created jobs," he said.

Wang moved to the U.S. in 1991 and became a U.S. citizen. He said he was shocked when he moved to America that there was no high-speed rail. [emphasis added]

That's a charming tale. But Bluestem struggles to understand how Wang could have been shocked at the absence of high-speed rail in the United States when at the time, high-speed rail in the People's Republic of China was only a glimmer in party officials' eyes.

Policy planners debated the necessity and economic viability of high-speed rail service. Supporters argued that high-speed rail would boost future economic growth. Opponents noted that high-speed rail in other countries were expensive and mostly unprofitable[citation needed]. Overcrowding on existing rail lines, they said, could be solved by expanding capacity through higher speed and frequency of service. In 1995, Premier Li Peng announced that preparatory work on the Beijing Shanghai HSR would begin in the 9th Five Year Plan (1996–2000), but construction was not scheduled until the first decade of the 21st century.

According to the entry, high-speed rail was launched in China in 2007. What Wang saw there in 1991 is anyone's guess, but whatever he and Carlson were smoking during that interview, they should learn to share.

The 2007 date is mentioned in Tom Zoellner's une 14, 2016 article in Foreign Affairs, China's High-Speed Rail Diplomacy. It's an interesting read, and includes news of the American regulation ( "a federal mandate that high-speed rail train sets must be manufactured domestically") that shut down the Xpress West proect from Vegas to Southern California. (North American High Speed Rail once claimed to be negotiating to operate that line).

Taiwan's high speed rail line dates from the same year. Time reported in A Brief History of High-Speed Rail that Japan built its first bullet train for the 1964 Tokyo Olympics; by 2009, 1,500 miles of high speed rail lines had been built on the island nation. The article noted:

The sobering expense of high-speed train travel has tempered the expectations of even the strongest rail advocates. "It sounds like a lot of money to Americans, but it's really just a start," James P. RePass of the National Corridors Initiative told the Washington Post. Some critics also predict a massive price tag to operate new rail lines, pointing to Amtrak's perennial shortfalls, and a proposed link between Anaheim and Las Vegas (in the home state of Democratic Senate leader Harry Reid) sparked outrage and derision among many Republicans.

There also exists the strong possibility of a political backlash to the idea of Chinese-financed high-speed rail projects. In 2005, fears of growing Chinese influence—stoked by U.S. politicians and pundits—helped doom a bid by CNOOC, a Chinese firm, to acquire the U.S. oil producer Unocal. Today, anti-Chinese sentiment is running even higher than it was then, thanks in no small part the presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, who regularly berates Washington elites for not taking a tougher line on Beijing. And critics of Chinese involvement in U.S. rail will no doubt exploit public concerns over safety. In 2011, a malfunctioning signal box caused the collision of two Chinese-built high-speed rail trains near the city of Wenzhou, killing 40 and injuring almost 200 more. The Chinese government moved to squelch criticism, even though investigations found that the rail line had been built hastily with substandard materials amid an atmosphere of official corruption.

The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), an arm of the Treasury Department designed to protect the nation from financial threats to its national security, would presumably review any large-scale involvement by Beijing in a critical piece of U.S. infrastructure. But the CFIUS approval process is somewhat opaque, and the committee’s decisions can apparently be swayed by high-priced lobbyists. When asked about their review process, a U.S. Treasury spokesman responded in email that the committee “does not comment on information relating to specific CFIUS cases, including whether or not certain parties have filed notices for review.”

Details, details.

Whatever the case, Bluestem thinks it's safe to bet that Wang, North American High Speed Rail Group's strategic communicator Wend Meadley and the rest of the gang are full capable of building the high speed rail that flourished in China and Taiwan over 25 years ago.

Perhaps they'll offer Mayor Brede a piece of the Brooklyn Bridge next or market vaporware to the DMC.

Photo: Maybe Wang was thinking of "theAsia Express steam locomotive, which operated commercially from 1934 to 1943 in Manchuria could reach 130 km/h (81 mph) and was one of the fastest trains in Asia" (Amtrak'sAcela Express on the east coast can reach 150 mph). Photo credits: This photographic image was published before December 31st 1956, or photographed before 1946, under the jurisdiction of the Government of Japan. Thus this photographic image is considered to be public domain according to article 23 of old copyright law of Japan (English translation) and article 2 of supplemental provision of copyright law of Japan.

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Not so an episode during the Raymond Harvest Fest parade last weekend, when a paid tracker aggressively inserted himself into a DFL parade unit for two House candidates, Andrew Falk, 17A and Mary Sawatzky, 17B. Both candidates served in the Minnesota House, but lost their seats in 2014 in races that were heavily targeted by independent political committees.

Shortly after the Raymond parade--we were packing for our move and therefore missed it--we started hearing about a rude tracker from friends who had walked with the candidates. Willmar labor activist Steve Pirsch's Facebook post is a mild reaction:

Walked with Andrew Falk and Mary Sawatzky in the Raymond Harvest Day parade we were joined by a photographer from the Jobs coalition he was taping and taking pictures I am sure they will be used as a negative towards our candidates. Pretty sad that the republicans waste their money on such dirty tactics.

I want to thank all of the people who helped to make the Raymond Harvest Fest a success. Thanks for the food, the kids’ games, and activities.

I also need to mention one thing. During the parade, there was a person with multiple cameras walking with our DFL entry. THIS PERSON WAS NOT WITH OUR ENTRY. His name is Kip Christianson and he is the treasurer of the Minnesota Young Republicans. He works for the MN Jobs Coalition, which is the negative attack group of the Republican Party and is working in support of Tim Miller.

During the parade, he rudely walked with our unit while filming, ran into and pushed our volunteers, stuck his camera in the window of our truck, walked right in front of our truck while it was moving causing a safety concern, and would not leave after being asked to repeatedly. These are the tactics being used to help Tim Miller. In all my years of campaigning, I have never experienced anything so rude.

The whole goal of these political stalkers is to antagonize and provoke candidates so they can use the footage in negative attack ads.

Two years ago, the MN Jobs Coalition spent hundreds of thousands of dollars running negative attack ads against me and in support of Tim Miller. We later found out that the MN Jobs Coalition had received corporate money via the Republican State Leadership Committee from Reynolds American and Altria (tobacco companies), Blue Cross/Blue Shield, Koch Industries, Las Vegas Sands, Pfizer (drug company), and many other corporations and special interests.

The next time you see or hear anything paid for by the MN Jobs Coalition, please remember whom they are working for, where they get their money, and how they operate.

Parades are supposed to be fun; Mr. Christianson and the MN Jobs Coalition crossed a line and made it obnoxious for a lot of people.

Respectfully,

Andrew Falk

DFL Candidate 17A State Representative

This behavior is unacceptable--and doesn't seem isolated, since we've heard from a DFL activist in the Second Congressional District that "Kip Charles" has been very aggressive to suburban candidates. He was "in her face" to Lindsey Port (56B) in a parade and shadowed Erin Maye Quade (57A) on a doorknock.

In all cases, the tracker--who is indeed the treasurer of the Minnesota Young Republicans--should respect local traditions like parades where people gather to have a good time. One of the best parades this year in MN17A was held in Prinsburg, Rep. Tim Miller's hometown; parade watchers cheered and waved to both candidates. At their best, small-town parades are about pride and appreciation--not partisan antics and Independent Political Fund fodder.

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An invitation will be on its way to Gov. Mark Dayton to tour the Prairie Correctional Facility in Appleton.

Rep. Tim Miller, R-Prinsburg, is asking the governor to tour the shuttered prison after hearing recent news reports that the governor is opposed to purchasing the facility.

Miller said he is particularly concerned about a statement attributed to the governor in news reports in March. Dayton expressed concerns at the time that the privately owned prison needed rehabilitation.

Bluestem thinks it's encouraging that Representative Miller has noticed that Dayton isn't interested in purchasing the prison and hasn't been since his chief of staff met with CCA lobbyist(s) at their request sometime before the March 23 press conference.

Miller had nearly the whole session to bring up his objections to the governor's office, but waits until now to run to the West Central Tribune with his concerns. You'd think he'd get this work done during the session, but we suppose that's too old school for Miller and the rest of his caucus.

But Miller still told the public that some deal was in the works throughout the summer. After all, back at the beginning of July, the first-term Prinsburg Republican lawmaker was telling Appleton residents that a $99 million offer to sell was on the table.

Miller said the opposition continued to ignore the fact that the corporation had offered the state an option to purchase or lease to own, and that the state would have operated the prison with union employees.

Corrections Corporation of America had offered to lease the facility for $6 million to $8 million a year, and to sell it for $99 million. The lease payments could be used toward the purchase price, according to Miller.

Appleton attorney Brian Wojtalewicz questioned the $99 million purchase price when Corrections Corporation of America is paying property taxes based on a $15 million value. Miller said that's the offer the corporation put on the table. Negotiations between the state and the company are not in the Legislature's hands.

Miller said he is hoping Gov. Dayton will take advantage of either of two upcoming visits to the area to tour the facility. The governor be in the Watson and Montevideo area for the Governor's Pheasant Opener on Oct. 15. The governor is also visiting all 87 counties in coming months.

What other needs that the legislature didn't get around to resolving during the session does the King of Minnesota want to introduce into the governor's calendar?

Dayton's press secretary, Sam Fettig, said Friday that the governor's focus, along with Department of Corrections Commissioner Tom Roy, has been "to resolve our prison overcrowding with existing facilities, but it is a strategy which can be reviewed by the next Legislature."

Dawdling over approving untested blaze pink for deer hunters, fretting about where transgender people pee and other such time-suckers during session has its consequences.

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The crash marked the latest in a long line of driving-related maladies for Daudt, the highest-ranking Republican in the state. In recent years, Daudt has been cited with four moving violations and two license suspensions for failure to pay fines in Minnesota.

Daudt has received two tickets driving at least 15 miles per hour over the limit, a third for speeding and a fourth for texting while driving, all since joining the Legislature in 2010.

The speaker declined to comment on the story, but sent a statement through his spokeswoman. House GOP spokeswoman Susan Closmore said the crash was unremarkable, but that political rivals are using the incident to try to damage Daudt politically.

While only a poor country blogger rather than a political rival, Bluestem pauses to join the dog pile.

On April 28, 2015, Daudt voted against an amendment to SF 878, offered by Joe Atkins, DFL-Inver Grove Heights, which would have increased fines for texting while driving that occur within one year of the first violation. Under the amendment, a second violation within one year would incur a fine of $350, and a third or subsequent violation within one year would incur a fine of $500.

Did Daudt's dubious driving record influence the Speaker to vote against the Atkins amendment? Or was it just one of those partisan-line votes?

"I paid my speeding ticket and I fully intended to pay the right amount," he said. "People shouldn't speed, people should pay their speeding tickets, and I shouldn't have sped. There's no excuse."

. . ."I'm in the public eye and rightfully have to be held to a very high standard," he said. "I will get it fixed."

Perhaps Speaker Daudt, who reportedly has gubernatorial ambitions, might think about that concept.

Photo: Minnesota House Speaker Kurt Daudt in a pout.

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Earlier this summer, Representative Tim Miller, R-Prinsburg, told a town hall meeting in Appleton that CCA lobbyists met with the governor's office and made an offer to lease the Prairie Correctional Facility "for $6 million to $8 million a year, and to sell it for $99 million. The lease payments could be used toward the purchase price, according to Miller," Tom Cherveny reported in the West Central Tribune.

Miller said the opposition continued to ignore the fact that the corporation had offered the state an option to purchase or lease to own, and that the state would have operated the prison with union employees.

Corrections Corporation of America had offered to lease the facility for $6 million to $8 million a year, and to sell it for $99 million. The lease payments could be used toward the purchase price, according to Miller.

Appleton attorney Brian Wojtalewicz questioned the $99 million purchase price when Corrections Corporation of America is paying property taxes based on a $15 million value. Miller said that's the offer the corporation put on the table. Negotiations between the state and the company are not in the Legislature's hands.

While there was opposition to the prison legislation, Miller said there was also some progress. There was sentiment in the Senate in favor of purchasing the facility. And, the governor's office had met with lobbyists for Corrections Corporation of America to discuss the offer, he said.

News Thursday that the federal government intends to phase out use of privately owned prisons has renewed questions about the future of the privately owned prison in Appleton.

During the last year Corrections Corporation of America and officials from Appleton and Swift County launched a campaign to persuade the state to lease—or buy—the prison to ease overcrowded state prisons.

That proposal was opposed by Gov. Mark Dayton and a variety of political, religious and community groups who oppose for-profit prisons.

But there's speculation now that the Appleton prison may be available at a bargain price after CCA's stock prices plunged about 35 percent a few hours after the announcement by the Department of Justice.

The action by the federal government will likely put "downward pressure" on the price of the Appleton prison, said Sen. Lyle Koenen, DFL-Clara City.

"That puts us in a good negotiating position," said Rep. Tim Miller, R-Prinsburg.

Oh? In the earlier article, Miller asserted that the legislature had no role in negotiations, so it looks like Miller is indulging his proclivity for wanting to have things any number of ways depending on the audience and situation (more on that with regard to the prison in a bit).

Some basic questions (and answers) about "the offer"

Earlier, Bluestem had attempted to contact the governor's office, two state agencies, the Chief Fiscal Analyst of the Minnesota House Fiscal Analysis Department, a CCA staff lobbyist and contract lobbyists while consulting other sources in an attempt to learn more about the offer mentioned in the first article (and reported again in Thursday's article).

Our questions were basic in reporting terms, looking for the when of the meeting with the governor's office, the who of those attending the meeting, the how this offer was calculated and how it was conveyed (written or oral) and the like.

While the CCA lobbyists did not answer emails or voice messages, the Department of Corrections and the Department of Administration (which manages government property) both were unaware that an offer was on the table.

The office of senator Ron Latz, who convened the prison population task force, was not aware of the offer.

According to administration Press Secretary and Senior Communications Advisor Matt Swenson, Dayton's chief of staff Jamie Tincher met with a CCA lobbyist (or lobbyists) at their request. While Swenson offered few details about the meeting, it concurs with Minnesota Public Radio's Brian Bakst reporting in Dayton sounds off on prison, PolyMet, MNsure and more:

Reopening a western Minnesota prison. In no uncertain terms, the governor said he would veto a bill with traction in the House to reopen a private prison in western Minnesota under some level of state control.

“I’m told they want $100 million to buy it. Then we have to rehab it and operate it. Hugely expensive. And I certainly don’t support this private corporation being authorized or leasing the facility to them or paying to have them to come back and do it with all the problems they brought before,” Dayton said.

According to Swenson, Dayton's knowledge of the $100 million price tag comes from this single meeting with Tincher.

While advocates for reopening the prison took this press conference statement as a hopeful sign, a review of the press conference footage (unavailable online, as it was removed with other press conference footage that was found to be non-compliant with the state's Americans with Disabilities Act [ADA] policy) reveals that Bakst's account is accurate--and Dayton doesn't seem particularly happy with the added expenses that would follow a hypothetical purchase.

We also contacted nonpartisan House staffer Bill Marx,the Chief Fiscal Analyst of the Minnesota House Fiscal Analysis Department , who responded in two emails. Bluestem received the first on July 15:

The bill that had a hearing in the House and was moved to the Ways and Means Committee (HF 3223) directed the state to rent the Appleton facility. So the fiscal note on that bill did not address the value of the facility. The fiscal note is attached - there may be items of interest.

Here's the fiscal note for HF 3223, which only addressed the cost of leasing and operating the Prairie Correctional Facility:

Then the House Public Safety portion of the Supplemental Appropriations bill that went to the Supplemental Budget bill conference committee. contained language (copied below) that directed the commissioner of corrections to negotiate a contract to purchase or lease to own the facility. That language did not become law. I am not aware of any estimate that we had for the cost of purchasing the facility. Our fiscal analyst who works with Public Safety issues is not in the office today. . . .

The second email from was received on July 21:

I have talked with several more legislative staff about the value of the Appleton prison.

The taxable market value is $14 million, as you stated.

Our fiscal analyst who works with Public Safety issues says he heard a $90 million number at one time but has seen no documentation of that and only heard the number once. He says he is aware of no discussion of what the state might pay if the state purchased the facility.

If the prison were operating the taxable value might be considerable higher than $14 million. Do you have any way of getting county tax information from a time when the prison was operating?

When reviewed in tandem with the Department of Corrections and the Administrative Services being unaware of any offer, it appears that no active negotiations are underway, however pro-prison folks might spin it.

How much is that prison in the window?

A review of available sources about the value of the prison while it was operating suggests that $99 million or $100 million may be a steep price for the facility. According to bipartisan legislation passed in 2014 and signed by the governor, no state agency (with the exceptions of the DNR, MNDOT and BWSR), the University of Minnesota and MnSCU may pay not over ten percent of the appraised value of real property. Assessed, appraised and "carrying value" are not equivalent terms.

The highest assessed value that we were able to find in news reports is based on Swift County tax information that was challenged by CCA. In 2009, the Morris Sun Tribune reported in Appeal likely on valuation of Appleton prison:

A $20 million difference of opinion in the market value of a privately owned prison in Appleton could end up in court.

The Swift County assessor set the 2009 value of the property at $42.9 million.

A representative of the Corrections Corporation of America told the Swift County Board of Appeal and Equalization on Tuesday the property should be valued at $23.7 million.

The board, which is comprised of the members of the regular Board of Commissioners, denied a request to lower the property values. . . .

Unlike residential property values that are set each year, Swift County and the prison have agreed to go through the complicated process every three years to establish a three-year schedule for the valuations.

During the last round in 2006, the prison filed an appeal in court and then the two sides negotiated an agreement, said Giese. The county spent about $5,000 in legal fees.

The commissioners are hoping a similar smooth scenario takes place this time.

In 2003, a different approach was used. At that time, each entity hired appraisers and attorneys and negotiated an agreement without court intervention.

Ironically, that method cost the county about $125,000 in legal fees.

Giese said it's actually easier to negotiate an agreement once an appeal has been filed in court, than doing it outside the boundaries of the court. Also, he said, when an agreement is negotiated during a court appeal, the settlement is binding.

In 2006 the property value of the prison was set at $24 million. In 2007 it was $28 million and in 2008 it was set at $32 million.

Although prison populations are decreasing and the prison is currently at 55 percent capacity, during the last three years it's been at about 98 percent capacity, said Giese. That historical data was used to determine the 2009 rate.

In short, when the prison was operating at near-capacity, it was assessed at $42.9 million, though CCA thought it was worth quite a bit less. An anti-privatization website created by the Private Corrections Working Group, includes subsequent news coverage in its Minnesota Hall of Shame page (we have broken the copy into block paragraphs to make it more readable, but have not changed the content)

June 21, 2012 West Central Tribune

The market value of the privately owned Prairie Correctional Facility in Appleton — its prison beds empty for nearly 2½ years — has been reduced by $7.5 million to a new value of $14 million.The reduction was approved Tuesday night by the Swift County Board of Equalization.

But even that large reduction may not be enough to prevent the prison’s owner, Corrections Corporation of America, from seeking even greater tax relief by means of an appeal to the state. “They left, we hope, content enough not to appeal to the state board of equalization,” said Swift County Auditor Byron Giese. Assistant County Assessor Wayne Knutson had said the prison property should be valued at $22.5 million.

The Corrections Corporation of America said it should be valued at $10 million.[bold added] The Swift County Board of Equalization members agreed that the value of the empty prison should be reduced and members compromised with a market value of $14 million. It’s not known if Corrections Corporation of America will accept that $14 million valuation or if it will stage another appeal.

The $14 million valuation is a far cry from the $42.9 million the county assessor valued the property at in 2010. That rate was also later reduced during a court appeal and binding negotiation — a process in which the county and Corrections Corporation of America has engaged ever since the 1,600-bed prison opened in 2001. “They have appealed every single time,” said Giese.

March 17, 2010 West Central Tribune

A tentative three-year tax agreement reached with the Corrections Corporation of America will mean lost revenues for Swift County, especially in 2011. Property taxes will likely increase to make up for a decrease in revenue that the Prairie Correctional Facility in Appleton had generated in the past, said Swift County Auditor Byron Giese.

The prison, which closed in February, had appealed its $42.9 million valuation last fall, triggering a series of negotiation sessions. Following a closed meeting Tuesday, the Swift County Board of Commissioners approved a three-year deal that assumes the prison will remain empty in 2011 and hopeful that it will reopen in 2012, said Giese.

The first part of the agreement includes a reduction in the 2009 valuation from $42.9 million to $32 million for the 2010 payable taxes. That translates into a loss of $50,000 in tax revenue to the county this year, which Giese said will have to come out of the county budget. “It’s something we have to deal with. It’s not insurmountable,” he said.

Harder hit is the city of Appleton that will see $250,000 less in revenue. The Lac qui Parle Valley School District will have a decrease of $40,000 because of the lowered valuation of the prison, and the state will get $60,000 less Giese, said. The 2010 valuation, for taxes payable in 2011, will be lowered to $17.5 million.

The financial impact on tax revenues for the local entities hadn’t been calculated with that low valuation. “Everyone will have to live with it and move forward,” Giese said. He said property taxes may have to increase 3 to 4 percent on each parcel to make up for the lost prison revenue: “Local taxpayers will pay more.”

In the final phase of the three-year plan, the 2011 valuation for taxes payable in 2012 would increase to $21.5 million. “We’re anticipating that, hopefully, it’ll be open again,” said Giese, explaining why the valuation is scheduled to increase at that time. Corrections Corporation of America, which has other empty prisons in the system, has assured the county that reopening the Appleton prison is their number one priority.

“It’s not good for any of us to have this thing closed,” Giese said. The board did express concern, however, that if the prison opens its doors again in a few months with the lower valuation that the county “could look like we have egg on our face,” said Giese. “But it would be a good thing to have it back open.”

The tax plan was approved on a 4-1 vote, with Chairman Richard Hanson casting the lone no vote. Commissioners Gary Hendrickx, Joe Fox, Doug Anderson and Pete Peterson voted for the plan, which still must get final approval from Corrections Corporation of America and the courts.

Another concern with the closed prison is the effect it will have on the 2010 Census. Ten years ago the facility had 1,400 prisoners that counted toward the county’s population. The population of a community is a factor in obtaining such things as federal aid. Giese said if the prison opens and the population increases in the future, the county could appeal the census count.

The one bright spot financially for the county is that a $200,000 annual tax abatement that was part of the prison’s economic development incentive has expired after 10 years, said Giese.

Those who oppose re-opening the prison by and large look to sentencing and probation reform, as well as expansion of alternative programs like the Challenge Incarceration Program (CIP) to reduce Minnesota's prison population.

Those who seek to re-open the prison see incarceration as an economic development tool (jobs, jobs, jobs) as well as serving a need. Sometimes the narrative of Swift County as the bottom of the pack for unemployment got a bit counterfactual, as in Tom Cherveny's article, Economic tipping point triggers campaign for Appleton state prison:

With assistance from the Upper Minnesota Valley Regional Development Commission, the city of Appleton assembled these numbers a few years ago looking at the economic impact of the prison and its closing:

365 the number of jobs the prison once provided the regional economy

86 the number of lost jobs experienced directly in Appleton.

$13,760,000 The dollar value multiplier of what the loss of jobs meant annually in economic activity for the community.

$500,000 The amount of property taxes the facility pays to the city of Appleton. The taxes would be lost were the state to purchase the facility.

$800,000 The approximate total property taxes paid by the facility including the city, county and school district.

$50,000 The monthly utility bill the facility paid the city of Appleton when it was operating at full capacity.

$300,000 The amount of local government aid the city of Appleton lost annually when the prison closed. Inmates had been counted as part of the city's population in calculating LGA.

90 The number of students the local schools lost when the prison closed.

$586,620 The estimated loss in pupil aid that resulted with the loss of students.

"The Governor's Office is not leading on this issue, especially considering a commissioner has said that we have an overcrowded prison crisis. Months ago he proposed spending $140 million for new prison beds and that proposal was taken off the table after the Appleton prison was found to be a viable option. It's time for Governor Dayton to finally address this crisis by supporting the re-opening of the Prairie Correctional Facility and providing hundreds of good-paying union jobs to unemployed Swift County residents."

However, faced with other audiences, Miller changed his tune, championing criminal justice reform over jobs in his district, while seeming quite sincere about it. At a forum about sentencing reforms and the Appleton prison that was held by Miller's colleague Rep. Raymond Dehn, DFL-Minneapolis, the Prinsburg Republican said:

I totally hear what you’re saying about prison population reform, basically people who don’t belong in prison, and I agree. If someone doesn’t belong in prison, and not by my definition, but if people don’t belong in prison, I don’t want that to happen. If that means reducing the number and that means Appleton doesn’t open, then I’m 100% for it.

Here's the video clip of the moment, courtesy of The Uptake:

Funny how we don't hear that sort of talk out here in the district from Miller, but perhaps truth is a Foursquare app for the freshman legislator.

He does seem to stretched it a bit about those negotiations when talking to his constituents, so maybe his work with the Barn theater came in handy in North Minneapolis.

Photo: Tim Miller (left) tells participants in a North Minneapolis town hall that if the prison population can be reduced, he's 100 percent against reopening the private prison in Appleton, while Jeff Backer, R-Browns Valley, looks on. Screenshot via The Uptake (above); the private prison in Appleton (below).

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I don't believe the governor had any intentions of calling a special session. I think he wanted [inaudible] without one, to portray us as we couldn't get our work done.

But he made some pretty irresponsible comments after the shooting in St. Paul or Minneapolis in which he pretty much labeled all law enforcement as racist. Did he come under a lot of heat? You can think what you want, but he made those statements and after our president did, we lost five police officers, and he's coming under a lot of pressure in my opinion it time to call a special session to take the eyes off that ball and move it somewhere else.

Here's the audio:

We're not sure whether the Clearwater County Republicans were serving tutti frutti at the ice cream social, but that's quite the theory. We're not sure we want what Green's having.

“Would this had happened if those passengers were white? I don’t think it would’ve,” Dayton said. “So I’m forced to confront, and I think all of us in Minnesota are forced to confront, [that] this kind of racism exists.”

After meeting two hours in private, Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton; Senate Majority Leader Tom Bakk, D-Cook; and House Speaker Kurt Daudt, R-Crown, said they are near a deal to finish work that lawmakers failed to accomplish before their mandatory late-May adjournment date. . . .

The meeting came after Dayton and Daudt dined alone at the governor’s residence on July 5 to discuss what needed to be done.

So there you have it, gentle readers. If we are to accept Green's narrative, somehow the governor was planning his special session distraction with Daudt the day before Philando Castile was shot by a police officer.

That's a dish that melts like ice cream in July.

Daudt and Dayton met the day before Castile was murdered to talk about the special session. That meeting set the stage for the July 15 announcement, not the shooting.

Photos: Rep. Steve Green, an enrolled member of the White Earth Nation (top); the sign for the free ice cream social (below).

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Aug 08, 2016

On Monday, Minnesota House Public Safety committee chair Tony Cornish, R-Vernon Center, via urged voters in House District 31B to vote for incumbent Tom Hackbarth, R-Cedar, in light of the latter's staunch Second Amendment record and endorsement by gun rights groups:

Republican State Representative Tom Hackbarth northeastern Anoka County, needs the help of every "Pro Second Amendment" voter in his district. He is endorsed by the NRA with an A+ rating! He also has the support of the Minnesota Gun Owners Civil Rights Alliance with an A+ rating. Tom's opponent received a "B" rating from the NRA! Call your friends and have them vote this coming Tuesday for Representative Tom Hackbarth. Tom has a 100% Pro Second Amendment, Pro-Gun, voting record!

A comment on Cornish's Facebook page defending Bahr's lower scoring by the NRA--which has since been hidden or deleted from the wall--asserted that Bahr opposed the NRA position on individuals living in public housing being able to possess firearms, since those who can't pay their own way shouldn't be trusted with guns. Bluestem finds this notion about restricting a constitutional right concerning. Would Bahr also restrict rights to free speech, assembly, voting or religion based on receipt of public assistance?

It's totally not ironic that Cal Bahr, Hackbarth's opponent, is considered the more conservative candidate of the two Republicans, and has received the financial support of the Freedom Club State PAC and socially conservative GOP power couple Bob and Joan Cummins. Bahr also received a post-filing $4000 infusion of cash from the Senate District 31 RPM (July 22 24-hour-notice) from the Senate District 31 Republican Party, which closed the pre-primary reporting period with $2,993.12 cash on hand. It will be curious to see where the extra money came from that allowed the senate district district to cut that check, but we'll have to wait, because political party committees don't have to file 24-hour-reports on large contributions near a primary.

After more than two decades in St. Paul, GOP Rep. Tom Hackbarth lost his party’s endorsement back in April to East Bethel businessman Cal Bahr. Initially, Hackbarth wasn’t sure whether he wanted to run for his House district again, which includes Anoka, but he ultimately jumped into the primary contest. That miffed some local Republicans, who said Hackbarth initially promised to abide by the endorsement. Local Republicans activist are also likely primary voters, making this a race to watch. Hackbarth will tout his record in St. Paul and hope his name recognition carries him through to a victory.

We haven't seen any reports of polling in the district, so we'll be watching to see whether the local party endorsement beats support from the House Speaker, county commissioner and gun rights god Cornish.

Tuesday afternoon, state Rep. Tom Hackbarth went to the St. Paul Police Department and picked up his gun.

How his silver .38-caliber revolver came into the possession of the cops is a story that Hackbarth himself acknowledges sounds “really weird and odd.”

Last week, St. Paul police pulled the Anoka County Republican over and seized his loaded Smith & Wesson after he told them he was “jealous” about his “girlfriend,” whom he didn’t have any contact information for but suspected was with another man, according to police reports.

Police had been called to the Highland Park neighborhood by a security guard at a Planned Parenthood clinic, where Hackbarth had parked and appeared “suspicious.”

Hackbarth, who has a permit to carry a concealed weapon, was briefly handcuffed but was released without being charged, and he told the Pioneer Press he did nothing wrong or illegal. . . .

It's become the stuff of off-the-record legend around the capitol--and we can say no more.

Screengrab: Tony Cornish urges voters in House District 31B to vote for incumbent Tom Hackbarth over endorsed challenger Cal Bahr (top); the invite to the fundraiser at Running Aces (bottom)

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